Discussing
World Cup Fever: The Purest Form of Patriotism?

Why no comments? The silence is deafening. More than any vuvuzela.

The writer claims to see hints of Revelation 7. Really? What about Revelation 13?

Revelation 13:8: And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

"Madiba... his hands, his fingerprints, are all over all of these events,'' said World Cup chief executive Danny Jordaan.

"Let's celebrate the most charismatic humanist alive -- Nelson Mandela,'' said FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Global unity? The purest form of patriotism? This World Cup is an anti-Christian, anti-Israel propaganda coup. And the only thing pure here is the delusion. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:11.)

I enjoy the World Cup. It's a time where the whole world can gather and root for their team. There is nothing wrong with being a proud American and rooting for your team. There is nothing wrong with celebrating our country's independence on the 4th of July. This is a blessed country and I love it. I don't really care what any World Cup executive or Fifa president says about the games. I enjoyed them and they are entertainment, just like any other. Many outsiders have awful comments about the Church today but I turn a deaf ear to them. The church is the hope of the world today and until Christ comes back for her.

When Christians start praising the World Cup as a grand show of global unity you know we are in trouble. When Christians characterize Independence day and the blessing of God on our country as a show of Idolatrous nationalism, world government isn’t far behind. I completely agree with Luke 2136. This has all the hallmarks of Revelation 13:8. Genesis 11 talks about this kind of one-world, tower of Babel, anti-God unity in Genesis 11; “But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." Instead of trumpets of praise all I am hearing are derizive, cacaphonus, discordant vuvuzuelas. Just my opinion.

Hey --! it's just soccer ! That said, as an Englishman I love the 'Barbarians game played by Gentlemen'! & I will be cheering for whichever team plays Germany in the final ( Don't mention The Score ) I remember a good American preacher writing that national flags should never be in church buildings -- I think he was right - Our country of birth may be dear to us but our Citizenship is of Heaven, & our true brothers & sisters are the Church of God.